Sunday, April 8th arrived. James was due to return to Hogwarts.
In the few days since the funeral ended, James didn't feel like doing anything. Neither training, nor studying, nor doing the homework the professors had left him. He received many letters, most likely from his friends, Gwen, and others, but he didn't answer them, nor read them.
James arrived at King's Cross Station along with his parents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Not only Charlus, Dorea, and Oliver came. They were also accompanied by Richard Potter with his wife and son Charlie Potter.
Richard was a more distant uncle to James, and Charlie was a year younger than Oliver. They were family, but he was not his father's brother.
"Why did everyone come?" asked James as he pushed his trolley through the station. He had already passed platform 9¾ and was heading for the locomotive compartments.
"Of course to say goodbye to Lord Potter! Hahaha!" said Richard, laughing loudly. His wife elbowed him in the ribs and gave him a stern look.
"Cof... Sorry I wanted to lighten the mood a bit," said Richard as he coughed and grabbed his rib in pain.
A faint smile formed on James' face. The Potter family was like that. In any other family if they had chosen a thirteen-year-old boy as heir it would have caused divisions.
But in the Potters, it wasn't like that. No one complained about Henry naming James as the next Lord Potter. Everyone was even showing more unity than ever.
"Your Patronus was great, James! When I get into Hogwarts next year, can you teach me the charm?" asked Oliver excitedly.
"Me too!" said Charlie with stars in his eyes, remembering the majestic dragon Patronus.
James made a barely visible grimace. He created quite a fuss by casting a Patronus in front of so many people. He didn't mean to. He just wanted to say goodbye to his grandfather in a different way.
Everyone in the place was shocked that a thirteen-year-old boy could cast a Patronus especially the form it took. A dragon. Specifically the Opaleye dragon from the Antipodes. A breed of dragon is native to New Zealand. It is considered one of the most beautiful dragons because of its bright white scales and multicolored eyes that have no pupils.
This breed of dragon was a loyal creature and the least dangerous and deadly of all. Its favorite prey was sheep. James has been fascinated ever since he saw the statue of this dragon in the dragon clubhouse. He never thought that his Patronus would take on his appearance.
Another fact was that James got to cast his corporeal Patronus when he was twelve years old, before his birthday. So if people know about this tidbit they might be a bit more surprised, but he preferred not to say.
"Yeah, sure. I'll teach them," James said. Next year, he could give Oliver lessons in the Room of Requirement.
With the future war against the Death Eaters, his cousins should be as strong as possible. He will train them to exhaustion just like his grandfather's training.
Suddenly Oliver and Charlie felt a chill for some strange reason.
"That's good to hear, Oliver, Charlie! You'll have a great tutor. Don't waste it!" said Charlus, messing up his son's hair, who nodded slightly.
Before getting into the compartment, James said goodbye to everyone with a forced smile.
"Anything you need send us a letter," said Euphemia in a worried tone.
"Yes..." said James from the window. A few minutes later the locomotive began to move forward.
"I'm worried," said Euphemia, watching the locomotive move farther and farther away.
"Don't worry. It's James after all. He'll be fine. He knows we'll always be there for him," said Fleamont comforting his wife.
"Yes, it's true... I worry that so far he never shed a cry," murmured Euphemia.
Back on the train, James' forced smile disappeared. It was replaced by a serious expression with a hint of sadness. From his trunk, he pulled out a newspaper giving coverage of the Death Eater attacks.
Attacks aimed at Muggles were no longer as recurrent. Now they were fighting against the wizards who opposed them. Mostly wizards from the Ministry, and from what they were talking about in the paper it seemed that more and more wizards were joining their ranks.
'They're recruiting people,' James thought with a frown.
They are most likely recruiting more wizards from pureblood families, as they are the ones with power in the Ministry, and to overthrow the Ministry easier it is best to target the people who control it.
James wondered which pureblood families are attached to Voldemort so far. Since Death Eaters wear masks no one knows their identities.
Will your friend Sirius's family be united with them? Will the Shafiqs have had conversations with the Death Eaters by now? Both of these families have supremacist ideals, and it is almost certain to think that they agree with the goal of the Death Eaters.
The good thing is that James is close friends with Sirius. He knows Sirius would never side with the Death Eaters. Even the Black heir abhors dark magic and supremacist ideals. But he cannot think the same of Sirius' parents and other members of the Black family, except for Alphard, who doubts that he wants to join the Death Eaters.
As for the Shafiqs, he is friends with Gwen and Emily. He knows that Gwen is changing and knows that she is not a serial killer who would kill muggles like animals.
'I need to recruit reliable people,' James thought. He had to do the same thing his enemy was doing.
Although with her strength in the future, he could take on and defeat Voldemort if he faced hundreds of dark wizards, who were under Voldemort's orders, he would be helpless. He needs reliable and talented people to help him in the future war.
What better choice than Hogwarts? Although most are teenagers, there are many talented and future heirs to their families. Sirius and Gwen are a clear example.
Lupin and Lily Evans are rarely seen talents. Toby, though he thinks he is a coward, in difficult times shows great courage. Peter... well, he is Peter.
Frank Longbottom, William Turner, Erika Rath, Bob, etc. James knew many very talented people at Hogwarts who were the future of the magical community. Regardless of whether they are Muggle-born, half-blood, or pureblood.
"Ugh... This is going to get harder," James muttered. No longer will he just have to train and study like a madman, now he will have to form a circle of reliable people to help him fight a war that could explode at any moment.
The day he arrived at Hogwarts he felt the look of pity from many students. Many came up to offer their condolences. It was not strange that they had heard of his grandfather's passing.
Henry was Lord Potter. A well-known person in the magical world and his funeral was attended by a large number of people.
Luckily, the marauders had looks of concern rather than pity, as they knew James. They didn't bother him too much on the subject and tried to make the atmosphere as cheerful as possible with their usual banter.
"Are you practicing today?" asked Lupin, referring to the evening practice in the Room of Requirement.
"No. I'm getting tired. Tomorrow we'll resume night practice," replied James, and Lupin nodded.
"I'm close to getting a Corpse Patronus. I have a feeling. I wonder what form it will take. I hope it will be Dragon-like," said Lupin with a slight smile.
"Really your Patronus is a Dragon!?" asked Peter, looking at James in admiration. Toby also looked at him in admiration. He knew James and Lupin were studying and practicing the Patronus, but he never thought James' would take the form of a dragon. It's not the norm.
"Has the news reached here yet?" asked James with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes. News flies faster than you think at Hogwarts. There's a Dairy here for a reason. Everyone talked about it when they heard about it. Even my grandfather Arcturus sent me a letter," said Sirius with a grimace.
"Your grandfather?" asked James.
"Yes. Arcturus Black III. He attended your grandfather's...funeral. From what little he told me they were old war buddies who ended up becoming friends. They fought together against Grindelwald and his followers," replied Sirius.
'I'd forgotten about that...' thought James. He hadn't paid attention to the people he didn't know at his grandfather's funeral.
Arcturus Black III was a powerful member of the Black Family. And it seems he didn't mind befriending a Potter. A blood traitor.
This is good news. It seems that the Black Family is not so radical and has people with different ideals: Sirius, Alphard, Arcturus, and Andromeda.
Arcturus opposed Grindelwald a dark wizard who had similar goals to Voldemort. This could indicate that it would be complicated for Arcturus to decide to join the Death Eaters. Good news.
"Can you show us your Patronus?" asked Peter excitedly. His parents were adult wizards, and neither had a corporeal Patronus. He felt more admiration for James every day.
Lupin grimaced at Peter's question, he knew it wasn't a good time. To cast a Patronus you had to recall a happy memory. It was hard for James to feel like remembering such things when his grandfather had passed away just a few days ago. It was already quite a feat that he had managed to cast it on the day of the funeral.
"I don't have the energy. I'd need a happy memory, and I'm not very happy, to say the least," James replied, shaking his head.
"I-I'm sorry!" squeaked Peter as usual. Sirius gave him a stern look.
"Don't worry. When I get the energy, I'll show you," said James, patting Peter on the shoulder and going to the dormitory.
"He's more normal than I thought..." said Sirius, looking at James' back and walking away.
"Yeah... He just seems a bit down at best," commented Lupin with a strange expression.
They all thought they would meet a James who didn't want to talk, who wanted to be alone, or who would lock himself in his room or his canopy bed rather.
Instead, they encountered a normal James. So normal it was scary.
"He must be hiding his sadness," said Toby with a sad expression.
"Don't be sad yourself," said Sirius, looking at him strangely.
"Marauders should support each other! We should be there for James!" added Sirius with sudden enthusiasm.
"In what way exactly?" asked Lupin.
"By making his crazy training and study routine go as smoothly as possible. We'll accompany him through all of his training so that he can get the most out of it as efficiently as possible. If you have to endure a Flipendo grit your teeth and endure it," replied Sirius determinedly as Toby and Peter nodded repeatedly.
"If he wants to study we'll help him if we can. If we're of no use leave him alone to study so he doesn't get pissed off," added Sirius.
"Makes sense," said Lupin. This way James will be able to follow his routine while the marauders support him making his routine more effective. No longer will they make him worry about him not spending time with them. It's time for them to support him.